Enrolling People With Prediabetes Ages 60–64 In A Proven Weight Loss Program Could Save Medicare $7 Billion Or More

Rising chronic disease prevalence among Medicare beneficiaries, including new enrollees, is a key driver of health care spending. Randomized trials have shown that lifestyle modification interventions such as those in the Diabetes Prevention Program clinical trial reduce the incidence of chronic dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2011-09, Vol.30 (9), p.1673-1679
Main Authors: Thorpe, Kenneth E, Yang, Zhou
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Age
Behavior
Behavior Modification
Beneficiaries
Benefits
Body mass index
Body Weight
Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular diseases
Chronic diseases
Chronic illnesses
Clinical trials
Cost control
Curricula
Diabetes
Disease prevention
Diseases
Eligibility
Exercise
Expenditures
Government programs
Health (programs)
Health care
Health care policy
Health Care Services
Health policy
Health risks
Heart Diseases
Intervention
Lifestyles
Medical service
Medicare
Obesity
Overweight
Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act 2010-US
Physical fitness
Prevention programs
Saving
Social Programs
Studies
Trials
Weight control
Wellness programs
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Summary:Rising chronic disease prevalence among Medicare beneficiaries, including new enrollees, is a key driver of health care spending. Randomized trials have shown that lifestyle modification interventions such as those in the Diabetes Prevention Program clinical trial reduce the incidence of chronic disease and that community-based programs applying the same principles can produce net health care savings. We propose expanding a proven, community-based weight loss program nationwide and enrolling overweight and obese prediabetic adults ages 60-64. We estimate that making the program available to a single cohort of eligible people could save Medicare $1.8-$2.3 billion over the following ten years. Estimated savings would be even higher ($3.0-$3.7 billion) if equally overweight people at risk for cardiovascular disease were also enrolled. We estimate that lifetime Medicare savings could range from approximately $7 billion to $15 billion, depending on how broadly program eligibility was defined and actual levels of program participation, for a single "wave" of eligible people. In this context we propose that Medicare expand its new wellness benefit to include reimbursement for this and other qualifying behavior change programs. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0944